Case study: How BNZ works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices

Stakeholder identification and consultation

Please describe which stakeholders (or groups/ types of stakeholders) you have identified, consulted, engaged, collaborated or partnered with for the purpose of implementing the Principles and improving your bank’s impacts. This should include a high-level overview of how your bank has identified relevant stakeholders, what issues were addressed/results achieved and how they fed into the action planning process.

BNZ collaborates with various partnerships and industry initiatives, encompassing areas such as financial health, low-carbon transition, and sustainable finance. BNZ also engages with policy makers on topics such as climate, financial inclusion, and sustainability through industry associations and/ or directly, to deliver its PRB commitments, including:

• XRB – BNZ’s involvement includes submitting feedback on XRB consultations regarding the development of the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards.
• NZBA – BNZ actively participates in the NZBA’s workshops to aid in setting emissions reduction targets for its priority sectors of Coal mining, Agriculture – Dairy, Power generation, and Oil and Gas.
• Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) – BNZ’s ongoing engagement encompasses various regulatory initiatives, including climate-related stress testing, consultations on climate-related risk management guidance, and initiatives aimed at enhancing Māori access to capital.
• New Zealand Banking Association – BNZ collaborated with other members to establish a common set of scenario narratives for the New Zealand banking sector.
• Digital Boost Alliance – BNZ collaborates with 360 Tautua Trust, Arataki Systems, and Digital Seniors to enhance the digital skills of New Zealanders, in line with its commitment to the Digital Boost Alliance:
• Arataki Systems – BNZ supports Arataki Systems in implementing their Digital Marae Wānanga Programme at various Marae locations across Aotearoa. This initiative aims to enhance the digital literacy of Marae Kaitiaki (Trustees).
• 360 Tautua Trust – BNZ partners with 360 Tautua Trust, a charitable organization based in Auckland, to provide comprehensive services to elders and families within the Pasifika community.
• Digital Seniors – BNZ facilitates Digital Seniors charity in offering free tech support to seniors aged 65 and above in the Wairarapa region and the North Shore, Auckland.
• Online access – BNZ has worked with 2degrees, Spark, Skinny, and One NZ to ensure customers can access BNZ’s online banking securely without using their own mobile data, enhancing accessibility while mitigating risks associated with public Wi-Fi.
• The Mussel Reef Restoration Trust – The BNZ Foundation has granted support to The Mussel Reef Restoration Trust for the ‘Revive Our Gulf’ project, aimed at restoring the soft-sediment kūtai reefs in the Hauraki Gulf.
• Tāwhia – BNZ actively participates in Tāwhia, the Māori Bankers’ group, contributing to discussions on Māori issues and opportunities in the banking sector, with objectives including improving access to capital for under-developed Māori land and housing, enhancing financial well-being for Māori, and promoting Māori employment across the financial sector.

How did BNZ work with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities?

In its 2023 Principles for Responsible Banking self-assessment BNZ reports that it works with its clients and customers to encourage sustainable practices and enable sustainable economic activities as follows:

Within its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) framework, BNZ assesses ESG risk by categorizing industries into prohibited, high-risk, and sensitive sectors, assigning a corresponding risk rating to customers within those industries. The primary objective is to effectively manage ESG risks associated with customers. Whenever environmental or social concerns emerge during BNZ’s due diligence procedures, BNZ initiates dialogue with customers to collaborate on adjusting their practices for more sustainable outcomes. BNZ’s sustainability and climate strategies guide its engagement with customers on encouraging sustainable practices and enabling sustainable economic activities. BNZ engages with customers on sustainability through various approaches:

• BNZ maintains specialized sustainable finance teams within Corporate & Institutional Banking and Partnership Banking, offering sustainable finance options to support customers’ transition plans.
• BNZ provides training to its bankers, enabling them to engage with customers on sustainability and their impacts. In FY23, BNZ established a team of 64 Sustainability Champions across its business to assist customers.
• BNZ organizes thought leadership events, such as a panel discussion held in July featuring Sir Jonathon Porritt and Matt Whineray (a Centre for Sustainable Finance Board member), focusing on driving sustainable change.

UN Principles for Responsible Banking: Accelerating a positive global transition for people and the planet

With over 300 signatory banks representing almost half of the global banking industry, the Principles for Responsible Banking are the world’s foremost sustainable banking framework. Through these Principles, the banking community takes action to align core strategies, decision-making, lending and investment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and international agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement.

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The combination of all the above empowers FBRH to provide first class Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) assurance services.

References:

This case study is based on published information by BNZ, located at the link below. For the sake of readability, we did not use brackets or ellipses. However, we made sure that the extra or missing words did not change the report’s meaning. If you would like to quote these written sources from the original please revert to the following link:

https://www.bnz.co.nz/assets/bnz/about-us/PDFs/2023-Principles-for-Responsible-Banking-self-assessment.pdf?5a069f3abcbacc98727266c3eff81ffa25b8b48e

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